Govt plans to increase spending on agriculture

The government has planned to increase public sector development programmes (PSDP) by 50 percent over the next 10 years particularly for the development of agriculture production.

There would be an increase in the allocation of funds for agriculture growth at national and provincial levels. Main aim of enhancing financial funds was to increase in productivity and competitiveness of crops and livestock with yields expected to rise by 3-5 percent annually to catch up with the average of developing countries of Asia.

These views were expressed by Additional Secretary-II, MINFAL Shahid Hussain Raja at a workshop on "Pakistan National Agriculture Sector Strategy" here on Wednesday.

He said initiatives would be proposed for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure and support services for regional, provincial agricultural growth. Investment in farm-to-market roads, water supply, market networks and other agri-rural development related infrastructure would be reflected through diversified farm production and enhanced farm profits.

Efficient organisation of research and extension system would also be implemented, with a progressive increase in the share of the private sector to over 60 percent in crop and livestock extension services and production of certified seed and quality feed for livestock and poultry.

Even as the primary contributor to the economy, growth in the agriculture sector had been stagnating over the past few years. Among other factors, an uncertain policy environment combined with widespread resource degradation had contributed to low productivity and profitability.

As a result, he said, the government had set a strategic direction for agriculture, working towards enhancing its profitability through increasing productivity, diversifying to high value agriculture, particularly horticulture, livestock and fisheries and reviving rural livelihood through an integrated approach of farm and non-farm development with emphasis on production, agro-processing and marketing. A number of institutional and policy reforms have been implemented as part of this approach. Main purposes of the reforms were promoting efficient markets for major commodities, liberalising markets for fertiliser and seed, improving regulatory frameworks for quality control of products and inputs.